Automated Surface Observing System Sustainment Project

January 2009

Jim McNitt and Joe FacundoNOAA NWS

Office of Operational SystemsJames.mcnitt@noaa.gov301-713-2093 Ext 102

ASOS Overview

ASOS provides surface observations for aviation operations, weather forecasts and warnings, and climate services

ASOS is a modular system, designed to automatically collect, process, and transmit surface weather observations

Access to this data is available to a variety of users at local and remote locations on a 24-hour basis

The ASOS Operations and Monitoring Center (AOMC) can access the entire system at all levels for remote maintenance and diagnostics

Automated Surface Observing System Sites

At 1001 airports, worldwideAt 1001 airports, worldwide 312 NWS sponsored sites312 NWS sponsored sites 571 FAA sponsored sites571 FAA sponsored sites 47 Air Force sponsored sites47 Air Force sponsored sites 71 Navy sponsored sites71 Navy sponsored sites

Legacy ASOS System

No network connections

Reason for ASOS Sustainment

A number of factors have changed since ASOS was developed and in order to sustain it into the year 2020, the participating Federal agencies agreed to start planning a technology refresh of the ASOS IT infrastructure

Improvements are required to meet user requirements, comply with federal information technology security policy and procedures, and continue to perform within the ASOS reliability, availability, and maintainability specifications

ASOS Service Levels

Service Level D -- "stand-alone" sites and have no observer interface. ASOS provides an automated report

Service Level C -- airports staffed when the federal government facility is open. During hours that the facility is closed, the airport reverts to stand-alone ASOS or service level D operations. The observer can augment the automated observation with weather phenomena

Service Level B -- airports staffed with observers or air traffic control specialists who can augment ASOS obs

Service Level A -- airports staffed with observers or air traffic control specialists who can augment ASOS generated obs. Observations from these airports can include all of the elements of service level B, C, and D, plus 10-minute long-line RVR or additional visibility increments; sector visibility; variable sky condition; cloud layers above 12,000 feet and cloud types; volcanic eruptions; and dust, sand, and other obscurations

Capabilities by Software Build Series

Initial Operating Capability

(Build 1.0 series)

Initial Operating Capability

(Build 1.0 series)ASOS Level D

Airports

ASOS Level D Airports

ASOS Level C Airports

ASOS Level C Airports

Federal AWOS Level C/D

Airports

Federal AWOS Level C/D

AirportsStandalone

ASOS

Standalone ASOS

Build 2 Series Build 2 Series

Build 3 Series Build 3 Series

Build 4 Series Build 4 Series

Full Operating Capability

Full Operating Capability

ASOS Level A Airports

ASOS Level A Airports

ASOS Level B Airports

ASOS Level B Airports

Multi-DCP Airports

Multi-DCP Airports New AOMCNew AOMC

Hi-Res Data Issued to

Customers

Hi-Res Data Issued to

Customers

Advanced QC & Maintenance

Monitoring

Advanced QC & Maintenance

Monitoring

Automated Software

Downloads

Automated Software

Downloads

Advanced Sensor

Interfaces

Advanced Sensor

Interfaces New AlgorithmsNew Algorithms

Assumptions

The ACU and DCP hardware configuration will be standardized across the entire ASOS network in order to maintain a cost-effective and efficient logistics process

The same software will be running on both ASOS and AWOS. Interface differences between AWOS and ASOS will be managed within the software’s configurability features

A single development team would release one version of software supporting both the AWOS and ASOS systems, versus having development teams for both, thus reducing software support costs.

Remote monitoring and maintenance will reduce the amount of time technicians spend on the road

Assumptions

The communications architecture ultimately selected will require changes to the ASOS software, and perhaps also to the ACU hardware. Dial-in connections will not be required when ASOS is connected to an IP network

ASOS will be able to conduct time checks to synchronize its clock and will store data on its hard drive. The AOMC will no longer have to provide time synchronization and short term data storage. AOMC will backup system files

Combining the full testing resources of the FAA and NWS for the software going into both AWOS and ASOS will bring together a fuller and more diverse set of capabilities, resulting in improved quality of the software releases.

Constraints

The Engineering Development Model (EDM) design will incorporate strategies to deal with parts obsolescence and alternative sources, operating system upgrades and replacement, and sustainability through year 2020

IT security policies and procedures of DOC NOAA, DOT FAA,

and DOD Air Force and Navy are a constraint. ASOS is required to undergo Certification and Accreditation (C&A), Security Content Automation Protocol (SCAP), and Department of Defense Information Technology Security Certification and Accreditation Process (DITSCAP)

The design will modularize the ACU and DCP subsystems so that

maintenance staff can replace the lowest repairable units efficiently

Constraints

Design considerations include the automatic downloading of software and remote diagnosing of hardware/software problems reducing field visits

Network connectivity will have to account for agency architectures and system constraints and system boundaries

System configuration checklists will be developed, reviewed, and used to certify all ASOSs before they are connected to the network

Project Structure

ASOS Sustainment

Project Manager (PM)

PMSupport

Staff (PM)

Project Management Team (PMT)

APMC

Software Team (ST)

Hardware Team (HT)

Test Team (TT)

Operations and DeploymentTeam (DT)

Maintenance & Logistics

Team (MLT)

Engineering Development Model

The immediate focus of the ASOS sustainment project is the implementation and testing of the ACU/DCP Engineering Development Model (EDM) at NWS, FAA, and DOD locations to demonstrate the performance of the ASOS with modern information technology

EDMs are production representative systems to demonstrate performance specified in the System Requirements Specification (SyRS) and to finalize the proposed production specifications and drawings

After successful system integration testing, the EDMs will be installed at the NWS, FAA, and DOD in-service engineering sites

NWS will measure system performance and conduct test and evaluation on all operational configurations

Project Schedule

FY08FY09

FY10FY11

FY12FY13

FY14FY15

FY16FY17

FY18

Phase I

Phase II

EDM PLANNING

IT SECURITY

H/W

EDM S/W

TELECO PLANNING

MAINT PLANNING

LOG ANALYSIS

TELECO

DWGS/DOC

ILSP

TRAIN

PLAN DEPLOY DEPLOY DEPLOY DEPLOY

EDM S/W

EDM S/W

H/WH/W

EDM S/W

H/W

1 2 3 4

ACQUISITION PRE-ACQ